


What She Needs

by VictoriaSinclair



Category: In Plain Sight
Genre: Babies, F/M, Post Season 4, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-03
Updated: 2012-03-03
Packaged: 2017-11-01 01:12:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/350332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoriaSinclair/pseuds/VictoriaSinclair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mary has decisions to make. Marshall holds a baby and says some things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What She Needs

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers through the season four finale! I'm getting anxious about what will happen in the final season, so here's one acceptable way things could go. I may write more in this universe, if people are interested.

When the knock came at the door, Mary considered pretending she was asleep, but she was actually getting pretty bored. And hungry. Maybe it was a nurse bringing her food.  
  
"Come in," she called. But seriously, if her mother or Mark dared show up again after she very clearly explained that she didn't want to see them until the next day . . .  
  
"Hey," her partner said as he entered the room carrying - God love him - a takeout bag. He held it up a little awkwardly. "I thought you might be hungry. And not want any more flowers."  
  
"You thought right," Mary said. "Thanks for coming back. You must be tired." Marshall had stayed at the hospital until the baby was born and they knew Mary would be okay, and had only left when Stan called with a crisis some witness - one of _her_ witnesses, actually - was having.  
  
"I'm fine." Marshall looked around the room. "Where is everyone?"  
  
"I sent them home. I couldn't deal."  
  
"Ah. Do you want me to - "  
  
"No. Stay. If you don't mind."  
  
"Of course. So . . . " He gestured toward the baby in his partner's arms. "I see she's still here."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And is she going to be sticking around?" he asked carefully.  
  
"Seems that way."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Mary looked at him, but his face was carefully trained to hide his thoughts. "You don't seem particularly surprised."  
  
"Not particularly."  
  
"Huh." Mary wasn't quite sure what to do with that.  
  
"Does she have a name?"  
  
"Not yet. I wasn't really expecting to get to that point." The nurses had tried to get her talking about names a few times, but Mary could barely handle thinking about it, never mind discussing it with strangers. Luckily, Mark had been too worried about completely scaring her off to even mention the issue.  
  
Marshall nodded. "May I?"  
  
"What?" For a second, Mary had no idea what Marshall was talking about, and then she realized he was looking at the baby. Oh, right. "Yeah, of course."  
  
Marshall took the baby and settled into the chair next to her bed. As Mary watched him stare intently at her daughter, she had to admit to herself that he looked damn good with a baby in his arms. That was the kind of thought she usually shooed away - for several reasons - but this time it was a welcome distraction from the guilt she was trying to ignore. She had barely managed to let her mother or Mark hold the baby for a few minutes each before she sent them home - she didn't exactly trust either of them, but it was also just too _much_. If she was really going to do this thing, she needed to get used to the idea of the baby before letting everyone become one big happy family. But Marshall - well, she was more than happy to let Marshall take the baby for as long as he wanted, and what did _that_ say?  
  
"Where's Abigail?" she asked. She didn't really care, but her thoughts had been headed down a dangerous road. "I'd have thought she'd be all over this girly baby stuff."  
  
"I'm sure she'd like to meet the baby." Marshall sounded like he was choosing his words carefully. "She'd be less inclined to be in the same room as me right now."  
  
"Oh, God, is she mad about what happened during the shooting? It was your training, it didn't mean anything - "  
  
"It's not about that, Mary."  
  
"Okay, but if you need to go talk to her, you don't have to sit here . . ."  
  
"I don't. It's over, Mary."  
  
"What?" He couldn't mean that. Maybe she was still groggy from the meds and misunderstanding him somehow. "What do you mean, over?"  
  
"Abigail and I aren't together anymore." Marshall spoke slowly and Mary wondered if it was the first time he'd said it out loud.  
  
"But what - "  
  
"You just gave birth. Now is not the time to make you discuss my love life."  
  
Mary couldn't even tell if he was upset, because he was just staring at the baby, enraptured. "Later?" she asked.  
  
"Later."  
  
"Well, then, is now the time to talk about _ my_ love life?"  
  
This time he looked up at her. "What about it?"  
  
"Should I try to make it work with Mark? Do I owe it to _her_?" Mary nodded toward her sleeping infant.  
  
"No," Marshall replied, more quickly than Mary had expected. "He has rights to his child. He has no rights to you."  
  
"Yeah . . ."  
  
"So unless you want to be with him . . ."  
  
"No. But I'm not sure I want to be alone forever, either."  
  
"I don't think those are necessarily your only options."  
  
"Marshall . . ." Mary sighed. "I've never told you about most of what went on when I was a kid, what most of Jinx's boyfriends were like. But let's just say that I don't exactly have a high opinion of the kind of guy who's eager to date a woman with a kid."  
  
Marshall nodded.  
  
"And I'm not putting _her_ through what Brandi and I went through. God, Marshall, am I going to be a horrible mother?"  
  
"No." He looked straight into her eyes. "You are not going to be a horrible mother. I promise."  
  
"Thanks. I think."  
  
"And I promise there are decent guys who are fine with dating women with kids." He paused, then took a deep breath. "Personally, if a woman I wanted to be with had a child, I'd consider it a bonus. A head start, if you will."  
  
"Yeah, well, there aren't a whole lot of guys like you out there, Marshall."  
  
"Well . . ." Marshall held her gaze for a long moment and then cocked an eyebrow. "How many do you need, exactly?"


End file.
